India not headed back to 1991 crisis: Manmohan Singh

Reuters Staff

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India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh speaks during the meeting of the 57th National Development Council (NDC) in New Delhi December 27, 2012.B Mathur

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is not facing a repeat of the 1991 balance of payments crisis and fears that economic growth will slip to as low as 3 percent are unfounded, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

"There is no reason for anybody to believe that we are going down the hill and that 1991 is on the horizon," Singh told parliament.

Noting that the rupee's sharp decline over the last three months was partly due to an expected tapering of the U.S. Federal Reserve's liquidity measures, he said rich countries should pay more attention to the impact of their policy steps on developing countries' economies.

"In a more equitable world order, it is only appropriate that the developed countries - in pursuing their fiscal and monetary policies - should take into account the repercussions on the economy of emerging countries."